The Love Letter
by Nibinlotwen
Summary: Much ado about an envelope Hinata has.. but to whom is it for? ShikaHina originally-oneshot. Thank you all who reviewed, the sequel is for you z3!
1. Corridor, Second Floor

Corridor, Second Floor 

A/N: Hi again! More Hinata oneshots, don't kill me please ;;. As usual, I don't own the characters etc., just this story (I didn't steal the plot either. I know it might not be original, but I'd like to think differently..)

* * *

Hinata weaved her way through the crowd in the school corridor. What was she doing, heading towards the stairs to go to the first floor when she had next class on the third you ask? Of course she was heading to the lockers, she possibly couldn't _give_ it to _him_, now could she? What "it", you ask?

Wait and see.

* * *

Sasuke was bored.

Naruto was telling another of his stupid jokes though no-one was laughing. Not even Chouji, who usually laughed at everything: he claimed that he had "vast sense of humour". Yea right. He was just sugar-high after drinking many fizzy drinks (A/N: i.e. soda . I love British English, sorry..).

Suddenly the whole group stopped – actually just Naruto, but when he got silent they all knew that something was wrong.

"Oy, Hinata-chan! What are you hiding from?"

.. or not. It was just the Hyuga girl.

... Troublesome ...

* * *

.. troublesome ..

Still, Shikamaru stopped with everyone else. Now that he got a good look at the blushing girl, he knew that she had infact been hiding.. but from who? Naruto, would be his first guess. Why else would she have a death grip on an envelope? Although it was all white – no heart decorations, no perfume, no nothing – Shikamaru wasn't stupid. Of course it was a love letter. To Naruto.

Naruto, too – finally – noticed the letter in Hinata's hand.

"Who is it to?"

Shikamaru almost corrected him – "to whom is it for" – but he was already at the end of his tether (1) so he just settled for observing. As always. Hey, he wasn't lazy! Just.. uninterested.

"A-ano, konnichi wa, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-san, Chouji-kun, Shikamaru-san.."

"Ne, ne, let me see! What is this?" without waiting for Hinata's answer Naruto took the envelope, turning it around and saw some writing on it. His look clearly said "what the hell?!". Shikamaru concluded that it hadn't been for the blond after all. He would have opened it by now..

"Why were you hiding? We were here all the time, why didn't you just give it to S-" the girl quickly shushed him, "Naruto-kun, please! C-can I just.. give it to him myself?" Naruto really seemed to contemplate it (yes, he can think.. he's not _that_ stupid, you know!) but decided to tease her by holding the paper above his head. This of course resulted in Hinata jumping up, trying to reach it. Too bad for her that Naruto was a lot taller than her.

"Just give it to her, dobe. We'll be late for class", Sasuke butted in, snatching the offending envelope. He was about to give it to the relieved Hyuga, when he too saw the name written on it. Then the Uchica heir did something unbelievable.

He snickered.

Naruto's jaw fell to the floor and Chouji stopped eating his chips. It was the eight World Wonder! Finally Sasuke got himself together and stood up straight. He eyed the girl standing in front of him.

"So.. what would you be willing to do for this?"

Without giving her time to answer, he leaned closer..

* * *

"You could begin by calling me Sasuke-_kun_, Hinata-_chan_..." he whispered in Hinata's ear. He could feel her face get hot by the closeness. Before she could back a step, he took a step back, still holding the envelope in his hand.

"O-onegai, Sasuke-kun.. please give it back"

* * *

Hinata's quivering voice was the last straw. Shikamaru took the envelope from Sasuke while giving him the evil eye. Hinata turned to him, newfound hope clear in her face. The genious almost lost himself in her mauve eyes, but was able to pull away at the eleventh hour. He handed the envelope to her, without even glancing at it. Theit eyes locked.. until Nauro opened his big mouth and ruined the moment.

"Are you giving it to him or going to the lockers? Because, that would be a cowards way out. Give it!" the blond cheered her on. Few by-passers glanced at him, all thinking the same: '_hopeless'_.

"We're all voting for giving it personally. What about you, Shikamaru?" Chouji asked, still oblivious about who was going to receive the envelope.

Sigh.. This was going to be troublesome..

"Locker is ok, wouldn't be so much of a bother. But if you really mean what you say in the letter, then giving it personally would be best", he said, looking at Hinata. Strange, she turned from pink to white.. then to pink again.

"A-ano, in that case.." Hinata mumbled, twiddled the envelope..

She took a step closer and put it in Shikamaru's uniform jacket's pocket. With a quick glance at him she hurried to the third floor, to Chemistry, leaving Shikamaru staring after her.

Hinata gave a love letter .. to _him_?

* * *

(1). "feel unable to deal with something because you are too tired, worried or annoyed". oh how I love my English book ! (English Vocabulary in Use, Advanced (Cambridge University Press)).

P.S. I love reviews. I've tried to hold the pleading back but I can't anymore ;; ...


	2. The Roof

_**A/N:**_ Here is a thank you for your reviews **LixxyChan, Jax9, Bill the Cat Loves ShikaHina, NotaPunk, HiN4-cH4n, Night Beauty, dark-emo-gal, HopeoftheForgotten, Kakashiminded, LovedLess231, Hotari-chan**! I really mean it, your reviews made my day (and this 'sequel') z3 !

I don't own the characters, etc... you know the drill.

* * *

Hinata hurried to the Chemistry classroom, a blush gracing her cheeks. She had done it! She had given the letter to Shikamaru.. but his possible response worried her. After all, he was close with Ino and, rumours had it, he was dating Temari who liked Neji who had set his eyes on Sakura who was smitten with Sasuke who Hinata _knew_ had taken liking to Naruto – no, Hinata _wasn't_ panicking. Walking to her seat in the classroom she barely had time to sit down when a blur of blond and orange ran in. 

"Sakura-chan! You'll never guess what Hina-" Naruto's loud voice echoed in the nearly empty classroom. He had stopped mid-sentence when he noticed that Sakura wasn't there. He and Hinata were the only ones in the room. Hinata sighed: she never would have believed Naruto be such a gossip – wait, yes she would. He was almost dating Sakura, after all.

"Oi Hinata-chan, where's everybody?"

Naruto's confused look was adorable and all, but Hinata had hoped that he would have learned to _read_ during the years they had gone school – their timetables said that the class started at 14.20 and the clock was only 14.15..

"A-ano, classes start in five minutes.." But her answer went to deaf ears as Naruto revaluated the situation and decided to talk about something else.

"Shikamaru was looking for you, by the way. But your next class with him is like tomorrow, so –" this time he was ignored, for the information was all Hinata needed. Her heart started beating loud in her chest and a warm feeling spread to her face. Shikamaru wouldn't bother to talk to her if his answer was negative – it would be too troublesome – so she quickly stood up and nearly fled from the classroom.

She had to find him.

Naruto siged: he had nothing to do for five minutes. To his surprise, he found Sakura's bag on her seat. Slowly he walked to it, then snatched her Chemistry notebook and pencil and quickly wrote something on the front cover. Sniggering, he put the notebook back in Sakura's bag.

Now all he had to do was to make sure she didn't see him in the classroom – or nowhere near the crime scene.

* * *

After Naruto had ran to tell the news to his he-wishes-girlfriend - i.e. Sakura -, Shikamaru decided to shuffle along to his next class, Maths. Hinata would probably be in Chemistry right now, and wouldn't dare to exit the classroom for Orochimaru-sensei was alway early.. 

.. then why did he wish that the fast steps he heard coming towards him were coming from her shoes quickly hitting the floor?

"Shikamaru-kun!" Dread fell upon Shikamaru. He knew that voice..

.. and soon enough, Ino had jumped on his back. She pulled his hair, clearly annoyed with him.

"Damn you, asking Hinata out like that.. she likes Naruto who likes Sakura who is head over heels in love with Sasuke who, naturally, loves me who likes you!"

The Nara boy blinked. Besides Ino's horrible grammar, something else in her overly long and convoluted (1) sentence registered in his head.

'_.. me who likes you ..'_

Damn, this was going to so much more troublesome than Hinata's confession.. Shikamaru thanked the gods above when the bell rang. Just as he suspected, Ino let go and still seething – but quickly enough not to be late – shuffled along to her respective class.

* * *

Cursing wasn't Hinata's style – at all. But when she was few turns away from Shikamaru's class – she _hadn't_ studied his timetable by heart (2) – and the bell rang to announce the beginning of class, a bypasser learned a new word (3). 

In defeat, she turned to head towards Chemistry only to bump into someone. Luck wasn't on her side today, she thought as her eyes rose to apologize to the person ..

"Sh-Shikamaru-san!"

Or then lady Luck _was_ smiling to her. Hinata couldn't stop the blush appearing on her face as she took a quick step backwards – she had clearly invaded his personal space.

Silence filled the corridor.

"A-ano.. Naruto-kun said that.. you were looking for me.." it came out more like a question than a statement.

"Actually I said that I'd talk to you tomorrow.." Shikamaru's sentence was left unfinished when he realized what had happened. Hinata had been looking for him although they could have met the day after.. and she had _Chemistry_ which meant she'd be _dead_ if she went back to the classroom now (i.e. late). She did such a troublesome thing – for _him_.

"Shikamaru-sa.. kun?" Hinata strted tentatively, "a-ano, are you alright? You'r face is kind of.. red.." Her comment startled him from his thoughts. Was he.. _blushing_?

"I'm fine. But, umm.. you're late for Chemistry.." he tried to direct her attention to _anything__else_ than his blushing cheeks. _'Damn stupid silly crush..'_

"I-I know.." Hinata said quietly, turning her gaze to the floor. Did he want to get rid of her so soon? She was about to walk past him to her class when she felt his hand on her shoulder.

"Well, since we're both skipping class.. would you like to come to the roof with me?" Inside Shikamaru was cursing. He hadn't meant to sound so blunt. Surely that would scare her off –

"O-okay.. since we're both.. skipping.." she said, trying hard not to blush. He had sounded so casual that it made her wonder if he frequently invited girls there..

* * *

Shikamaru laid down on the flat roof, turning his gaze towards the clouds. It was a peaceful day and nothing hinted that it would rain that day. He sighed happily, finally being in his element. 

Hinata sat next to him, deep in thought.

'_Why did he invite me, doesn't he think all girls are troublesome? Has he even read the letter? This would be nice, watching clouds, if we ever were together. At least I wouldn't be this tense. I wonder what he's thinking..'_

"What do you really think of me, Hinata?"

So he hadn't read the letter. Trying to hide her dissapointment, Hinata gathered all her courage to repear those words she had written down the night before..

"To me, you're not lazy, you just prioritize things in accordance with your mood and values. You speak your mind unless it's troublesome – meaning something you don't feel like doing at the given moment. You concentrate your energy on things you are interested in, not on anything somebody else wants –"

"It's all in here already", Shikamaru interrupted, holding the letter in his hands. He sat up and turned to look at her.

"What do you _really_ think of me, Hinata?"

He had read the letter. Her heart started to beat faster. She could feel the blush coming and this time didn't even try to stop it. The observant look in his eyes, the forfecul tone he had used, the way he was concentrating fully on her..

She couldn't faint now. She had been waiting for this: to be the only thing in his mind.

"I- I think.. I think you are more of a man than anyone else in this school. You speak your mind and don't care what others think. You dare to be silent when others wouldn't. You are just, and you listen before judging. In my eyes.." she looked at him and bit her lip before continuing, "you are the only one".

Shikamaru was left speechless: she had taken great pains with thinking about this. About _him_.

"I used to think that I'd start dating some troublesome girl and end up marrying her and have a bunch of troublesome kids.. Now I know that isn't the only option. Hinata, maybe we could.. you know, try it out.."

A small smile found itself on Hinata's lips. She gently took his hand in hers.

"I'd love to, Shikamaru-kun.."

Both in their own thoughts, Hinata and Shikamaru didn't pay any attention to Sakura's horrified screams as she read what was written on her Chermistry notebook: '_Uzumaki Sakura dattebayo z3!_'

* * *

A/N: I so hope the ending isn't stupid... 

P.S. 1340 words DATTEBAYO!

_(1) convoluted_ complex, difficult to understand, for example a sentence or an explanation. Again, I thank my beloved English Vocabulary in Use (Advanced). ((Even my _dictionary_ didn't find that word.. xD))

(2) sarcasm, people xD

(3) .. at least in Finland we use the 'colloqualism' "to have learned a new word" whenever a young child (or a teenager) starts to curse/cuss (a lot) or use a lot of vocabulary used of intimate places. So yeah, that's Finland to you xD. But in this fic it's just there to mean that Hinata uses .. colourful language .

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